The Phoenix Suns won for the eight straight time and clinched a playoff birth, downing Chicago 111-105. Despite the recent success, they have made little headway in the overall Western Conference standings.
Phoenix bested Chicago in a back-and-forth game that came down to the final possessions. Steve Nash was given more room to work when Kirk Hinrich twisted his ankle in the second half. A clutch three by Channing Frye and crucial free throws by Nash down the stretch made the difference, despite good performances by Derrick Rose and Flip Murray. Jason Richardson paced the Suns in scoring with 27 points.
The Suns are 17-4 since the All-Star Break. They’ve won 8 straight games for the first time since 2007. But even with the recent streak, the Suns are still only 4th in the Western Conference. That being said, the are just a game and a half out of 2nd place.
Much of the Suns’ current success can be attributed to the rejuvenated play of Amare Stoudemire. The subject of rampant trade rumors, Stoudemire has stopped pouting and started playing. Averaging nearly 28 points since the All-Star Break, Amare’s showing that he can be a true offensive force if given the right motivation. No doubt he has increased his free agent market value significantly. The Suns will need to think hard about whether they can afford to let him go, or if they decide to finally pay someone.
Most basketball players are either long gone from the NBA or buried deep on someone’s bench at 35 years of age. But Steve Nash is showing that his skills are far from gone.
Steve Nash took his time opening night, scoring 15 points of his 24 points in the final quarter leading the Phoenix Suns to an opening night win of the Golden State Warriors. He followed this up with an eye-popping 20 assists in a romp over the Golden Warriors. Is Nash’s performance a mirage in the desert? Is it simply what good point guards do against two lowly Western Conference opponents? Or is this a wake-up call to the rest of the NBA that Nash & the Suns are back?
The Terry Porter experiment was a disaster. The Shaq trade did nothing but relegate the Suns to an also-ran team. Steve Kerr has two strikes. One more and he is out! Returning to the “7 Seconds or Less” philosophy that propelled the Suns to one of the elite teams in the NBA seems to have also woken up Nash.
Amare Stoudemire is back and Jason Richardson returns from suspension soon. Channing Frye mans the post last held by Shaq. Though certainly a downgrade on defense and low-post offense, Channing allows this team to run at max speed. The Brazilian Blur, Leandro Barbosa, is poised to wipe away last year’s disappointing season and return to his fast break ways.
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Ricky Rubio has all the promise of the next great NBA point guard. Blessed with silky smooth moves and a flair that matches Spain itself, Rubio took the world by storm at the Olympic Games last year. Depending on who you talk to, he is the next Steve Nash or Pete Maravich.
A little background on Ricky Rubio:
Rubio debuted in the Spanish ACB League in the 2005-06 season with DKV Joventut. He won the FIBA EuroCup championship with Joventut that year. He led the Spanish ACB League in steals during the 2006-07 season. He also won the Spanish ACB League’s Rising Star Award that season. Rubio was also named the 2007 and 2008 FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year
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